Born HIV Free campaign to end mother-to-child-transmission

“By 2015, let us end the transmission of HIV from mother to child.
This is not a dream: we can do it.”

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy,
The Global Fund Ambassador


With that simple statement from Ms. Bruni-Sarkozy as its guiding
principle, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria
has launched Born HIV Free. The goal of this new initiative is
straightforward – stop the mother-to-child transmission of HIV. As
Ms. Bruni-Sarkozy notes, this goal is achievable. We have at our
disposal the means of protecting our children from infection.

When an HIV+ woman becomes pregnant and gives birth, the virus can
be transmitted to the infant during gestation, during delivery, or
through subsequent breast-feeding. These types of transmission
collectively are referred to as mother-to-child transmission. The
terms vertical transmission and perinatal transmission also may be
used.

We now know that relatively simple and relatively cheat antiviral
regimens can dramatically reduce the rate of mother-to-child
transmission. In a 1999 study, Dr. Mary Lou Lindegren and
colleagues noted that rates of perinatal transmission dropped
significantly in concert with zidovudine (AZT) treatment for the
mothers. With the development of better drug regimens, these drops
in transmission rates have continued. According to the CDC, an
estimated 1,650 HIV-infected infants were born in the US in 1991.
In 2004, that number had dropped to less than 200.

This success, however, has not been mirrored in developing
countries. The causes of this disparity are several-fold. The most
important factors affecting the continued problem of
mother-to-child transmission of HIV in developing countries include
access to treatment and access to testing. In recent years,
antiretroviral drugs have become more available throughout the
developing world, thanks, in large part, to the influx of money
from sources such as the United States PEPFAR program and the
United Nation’s Global Fund. Additionally, other groups, most
notably the Clinton Foundation, have fought hard to make these
drugs more affordable. But we need to do more. Too many HIV+ women
still do not have access to the necessary treatments.

In addition to making drugs more available, we also must work
diligently to increase the levels of testing. Treatment to prevent
perinatal transmission requires that women know their HIV
status.

To find out more about the Born HIV Free campaign, please visit
their website at http://www.bornhivfree.org. Let’s join Ms.
Bruni-Sarkozy in ending the transmission of HIV from mother to
child.